Although the NDA itself only employs 300 staff, its annual budget is £3.2 billion. The vast majority of the NDA budget is spent through contracts with Site Licence Companies, who also sub contract to other companies which provide special services. The NDA aims to do this by introducing innovation and contractor expertise through a series of competitions similar to the model that has been used in the United States. In April 2017, the NDA lost a legal case in the Supreme Court regarding the procurement of a sizeable contract for the decommissioning of 12 different Magnox nuclear facilities when EnergySolutions EU Ltd. (now called ATK Energy EU Ltd.) challenged a decision in connection with ATK’s unsuccessful bid.[1]

Responsibility for operating the sites has been restructured into five Site Licence Companies (SLCs). The management of the SLCs is contracted out to different Parent Body Organisations (PBOs), which are owned by private companies.[2]

NDA increasing estimates of remaining cost of decommissioning and clean-up[6][7]

Year of
estimate

Sellafield

Other NDA sites

Total

(£ billions, discounted)

2009-10

25.2

19.9

45.1

2010-11

32.7

16.5

49.2

2011-12

37.2

15.6

52.9

2012-13

42.0

16.9

58.9

2013-14

47.9

17.0

64.9

2015-16

117.4

43.3

160.7

In 2005 the cost of decommissioning these sites was planned at £55.8 billion, with Sellafield requiring £31.5 billion.[8] However, in 2006 the NDA reported that the cost of cleaning up existing waste was higher than previously thought, and gave a new estimated decommissioning cost of about £72 billion over a 100-year period.[9] In 2008 estimated decommissioning costs increased to £73.6 billion, or after taking account of discount rates, £44.1 billion.[10] A 2006 estimate foresaw £14bn of offsetting income from reprocessing fuel at Sellafield.[9] In 2009 the NDA sold land near three existing reactor sites for expected new nuclear power stations, for over £200m.[11]

In 2013, a critical Public Accounts Committee report stated that the private consortium managing Sellafield has failed to reduce costs and delays. Between 2005 and 2013 the annual costs of operating Sellafield increased from £900 million to about £1.6 billion. The estimated lifetime undiscounted cost of dealing with the Sellafield site increased to £67.5 billion.[12][13][14] Bosses were forced to apologise after projected clean-up costs passed the £70 billion mark in late 2013.[15] In 2014, the undiscounted decommissioning cost estimate for Sellafield was increased to £79.1 billion,[16] and by 2015 to £117.4 billion.[7] The annual operating cost will be £2 billion in 2016.[17]

In 2006, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced his support for a National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) to be based on the British Technology Centre at Sellafield and Nexia Solutions.[18] The NDA, as the owner of Sellafield site and the funder of majority of research required across the nuclear estate, was involved establishing the NNL in 2009. The NNL complements other initiatives to develop a sustainable workforce such as the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) network, including the development of Energus in West Cumbria, alongside complementary research and development facilities such as the Dalton Nuclear Institute.

Companies with headquarters and/or registered office in the UK but no applicable energy operations within the country shown in italics1Ultimate parent company is not UK-based 2Integrated in the United States, no generation or supply activities in the UK